The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
by
David F. Prenatt, Jr.
King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
U.C. Davis School of Law
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-5210
<mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ (King Hall USENET FAQ) may be comprised
of more than one part. If it is, please see the TABLE OF CONTENTS in Part
One for a complete list of the questions that I have attempted to answer
and for other important legal information. Caveat emptor: I assume no
obligation to anyone through the publication of the King Hall USENET FAQ.
Furthermore, all versions of the King Hall USENET FAQ are my personal
property and are protected by applicable copyright laws. All rights are
reserved except as follows: I hereby give my permission to anyone who has
access to this version of the King Hall USENET FAQ to reproduce the
information contained herein for non-profit purposes, provided that proper
credit is given to me as the author of this FAQ and that I am promptly
notified of any use other than personal use. I may revoke permission to
reproduce any version of this FAQ at any time.
- - - - -
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr.
11.2) What computer facilities are available to law students at U.C.
Davis?
U.C. Davis provides computer facilities for all registered students,
including PCs, Macintoshes, and Internet access. Call IT-CAP
(<mailto:ithelp@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-2548 for more information;
readers with a web browser may visit the Lab Management Home Page on
the World Wide Web (<http://lm.ucdavis.edu/labs/ >). In addition,
King Hall provides computer resources specifically for law students,
such as LEXIS and Westlaw. There are two computer rooms at King Hall:
The LEXIS/Westlaw room upstairs, and the computer lab in the basement.
11.2.1) How do I obtain access to the computer facilities at U.C. Davis?
Open an ez-account. You can do this at the LEXIS/Westlaw room in King
Hall or at any of the computer rooms anywhere on campus. However, you
will usually have to wait at least 24 hours before you can use your
account.
11.2.2) Will I lose access to computer services at U.C. Davis after I
graduate? [Rev]
Yes. Your account will be tagged for expiration the day after you
graduate, and you will have to prove that you are still affiliated
with the University to retain your computer privileges. In other
words, you are not entitled to computer privileges after you graduate
unless you remain affiliated with the University, and your privileges
may be unceremoniously interrupted at any time after that.
11.2.3) What should I do to make sure that I still have access to computer
services at U.C. Davis after I graduate?
For a small monthly fee, the Davis Community Network (DCN) will give
you 50 hours of access to the dial-in computer services that U.C.
Davis provides to it students. [Note: mother.com, America On Line,
and some other private ISPs/BBSs provide access to the ucd.*
newsgroups.] Anyone can telnet to the DCN server to join the DCN
(<telnet:wheel.dcn.davis >). For further information, see the
davis.dcn USENET newsgroup (<news:davis.dcn >) or visit the DCN Home
Page on the World Wide Web (<http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/ >).
The National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) sponsors several
"Freenets" that provide free Internet access. For more information,
e-mail NPTN (<mailto:info@nptn.org >) or ftp NPTN's Freenet Guide
(<ftp://nptn.org/pub/nptn/nptn.info/ >).
The most satisfactory and reasonably priced for profit ISP is UUNET.
For more information on UUNET, send your snail-mail address to UUNET
(<mailto:info@uunet.uu.net > uunet!info). Whatever Internet service
provider that you choose, you will probably have to provide your own
computer and your own modem.
11.3) What is the Internet?
The Internet is the product of a worldwide computer network developed
by the military in the late 1960s (ARPANET), nurtured by academicians
over the last 20 years or so, and currently used primarily as a medium
for the communication and free exchange of information and ideas for
anyone who knows how to obtain Internet access. There are more
breathtaking Internet applications, but they are not for "newbies" and
they are well beyond the scope of this FAQ.
11.3.1) How can I obtain access to the Internet?
You can use your ez-account to "telnet" to one of the computers at
U.C. Davis from King Hall, from one of the computer rooms on the U.C.
Davis campus, or from your home computer via modem.
11.3.1.1) How do I obtain access to the Internet from King Hall?
Go to the LEXIS/Westlaw room or the Computer Room on the second floor
of King Hall. You will find several IBM clones with the Windows
program running in the LEXIS/Westlaw room. If it is your first time
signing on to the Internet, you will probably need some help.
Computer Specialist Steve Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >)
works in the office adjoining the LEXIS/Westlaw room, and it his job
to help the members of the King Hall community with all of their
computer needs. Steve has written a set of instructions on how to
open your ez-account and use the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw room.
11.3.1.2) How do I obtain access to the Internet from one of the computer
rooms on the U.C. Davis campus?
Every computer room is a little different, but they are all pretty
straightforward. Check with the site attendant on duty if you need
any help.
11.3.1.3) How do I obtain access to the Internet from my home computer?
You will need a modem and some sort of communications software. Once
you have your communications software up and running, you can dial
(916)752-7900 to access the various computer services that are
available to U.C. Davis students, faculty, and staff through IT-CAP.
With a PC system, you are well advised to use the Windows operating
system. This will enable you to install a constellation of public
domain and educational software that is available to U.C. Davis
students free of charge (i.e., Trumpet Winsock, WinQVT, Win32s 1.2,
Wgopher, Netscape, Mpeg, and Lview). Contact a consultant at IT-CAP
<mailto:ithelp@ucdavis.edu > at (916)752-2548 for information on how
to obtain copies of these programs or other programs that will work on
whatever computer you may have.
Once installed, the programs that I listed above will give you
access to the Internet through a U.C. Davis SLIP connection by dialing
(916)752-7925 (PPP access is also available). [Note: Some of these
programs may run *very* slowly on a SLIP connection depending upon the
type of computer that you have.] King Hall Computer Specialist Steve
Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >) has put together a handout
on the installation of these programs. However, you must first obtain
the software that you need from IT-CAP in the Shields Library.
11.3.2) How do I communicate with other people on the Internet?
Communication between individuals on the Internet usually takes place
through the institutions of e-mail and the USENET newsgroups. These
are the most straightforward and easy to use Internet applications.
Live time conversations also take place with the Internet Relay Chat
(IRC) and the World Wide Web provides multimedia communication. I
hesitate to mention the highly intrusive Internet communication
software "talk/ytalk," but for those of you who want more information
on how to interrupt people with a talk request, contact David T.
Witkowski (<mailto:dtwitkowski@ucdavis.edu >; readers with a web
browser may visit David T. Witkowski's Ytalk Primer on the World Wide
Web (<http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~witkowsk/ytalk.html >).
11.3.2.1) Are there any rules for e-mail and the USENET newsgroups?
Yes. U.C. Davis imposes regulations for e-mail and the USENET with
its Acceptable Use Policy. There are also informal rules of conduct
that are enforced by the Internet community, fondly referred to as
"netiquette." Contact Student Judicial Affairs Officer Donald Dudley
(<mailto:djdudley@ucdavis.edu >), King Hall Class of 1993, at
(916)752-1128 for more information about the U.C. Davis Acceptable Use
Policy. As for netiquette, use your own good judgement.
11.3.2.2) What is the difference between e-mail and the USENET newsgroups?
The primary difference between e-mail and the USENET is privacy.
However, neither e-mail or the USENET are completely confidential.
While an e-mail message is not completely private, it is directed to a
particular individual or group of individuals; a USENET article is
available to anyone who has access to any newsgroup where the article
is posted. If you want to conduct confidential communications over
the Internet, check out an encryption program such as PGP ("Pretty
Good Privacy").
PGP has a public domain version that is available free of charge
to anyone who is using it for non-commercial purposes. It has
thwarted virtually every attempt that people have made to crack it.
What makes PGP unique is that the key that encrypts your mail (i.e.,
your "public key") is distinct and separate from the key that
unscrambles it (i.e., your "private key"). Unless you tell someone
your private PGP key or someone guesses it (which could take thousands
of years of computer time) or discovers it by eavesdropping, no one
can read your PGP encrypted mail.
11.3.2.2.1) How do I use e-mail?
The most straightforward and easy way to use e-mail is by using a
program called "pine," which is an acronym for "pine is no-longer elm"
("elm" was an e-mail program on which pine was based) To use pine,
type in "pine" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt. Pine is menu-
driven, so just follow the instructions.
11.3.2.2.2) How do I access the USENET newsgroups?
The most straightforward and easy way to use the USENET newsgroups at
U.C. Davis is by using a newsreader called "tin." To use tin, type in
"tin" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt. The tin program is
menu-driven, so just follow the instructions.
11.3.2.2.2.1) How many USENET newsgroups are there?
There are several thousand USENET newsgroups (more than anyone could
ever hope to read) and more are being created every day. Thus, you
have to decide which newsgroups you want to read.
11.3.2.2.2.2) How do I figure out which USENET newsgroups I want to read?
The USENET newsgroups are organized into a heirarchy that includes
regional and other domains. You can use this hierarchy to select-out
thousands of newsgroups that do not interest you. With tin, use the
"yank" command (with the "y" key), the "search" command (with the "/"
key), and the "subscribe" command (with the "s" key). After you've
subscribed to the named groups that you want, simply yank out the
rest. The "unsubscribe" command (the "u" key) will eliminate unwanted
groups. For more information, use the online help in tin (^g).
11.3.2.2.2.3) Which USENET newsgroups are of interest to members of the
King Hall community?
It depends upon the individual, but at the very least members of the
King Hall community would probably be interested in a number of the
regional domains that are available through the U.C. Davis USENET;
people who are new to the Internet would also be interested in a
number of newsgroups found in the news.* domain. You should subscribe
to news.announce.newusers (<news:news.announce.newusers >) until you
feel that you know more than most of the people reading that
newsgroup. You will also find FAQs on every conceivable topic in the
news.answers USENET newsgroup.
11.3.2.2.2.3.1) What regional domains are available through the U.C. Davis
USENET?
The ucd.* domain, the ucb.* domain, the davis.* domain, the yolo.*
domain, the sac.* domain, the ba.* domain, and the ca.* domain are all
regional domains that the U.C. Davis USENET can access; Netscape can
access virtually any USENET domain through the World Wide Web.
11.3.2.2.2.3.2) Does King Hall have its own USENET newsgroup?
But of course! The ucd.king-hall newsgroup (<news:ucd.king-hall >)
was founded by Joel Siegel, King Hall Class of 1997.
11.3.2.3) How do I use the IRC?
To use the IRC, type in "irc" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt.
There is online help available for the IRC and most of the people whom
you meet on the IRC will be willing to answer your newbie questions.
You will also find a FAQ on the IRC in the news.answers USENET
newsgroup (among other places).
11.3.2.4) How do I access the World Wide Web?
You can access the World Wide Web by using a text-based program, such
as "lynx," or by using a web browser, such as "Netscape." Access to
the multi-media features of various web sites (i.e., pictures and
sound) is the biggest advantage of using Netscape.
11.3.2.4.1) How do I use lynx?
Just type in "lynx" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt, and
follow the instructions you find on the screen.
11.3.2.4.2) How do I use Netscape?
Netscape is easy to use and has many revolutionary and exciting multi-
media/multi-protocol features, but you will probably need help from
someone who knows what he or she is doing to get started, so see Steve
Langford in the LEXIS/Westlaw computer room. For more information,
readers with a web browser may visit the Netscape Home Page on the
World Wide Web (<http://home.netscape.com/ >).
11.3.3) What other resources are available over the Internet?
In addition to the communication and exchange of information that
people accomplish using e-mail, the USENET, and the IRC, people can
download archived information from computers on the Internet using
"file transfer protocol" (ftp).
11.3.3.1) What is ftp and how does it work?
The ftp function resembles the telnet function (the basic method of
gaining access to the Internet for e-mail and the USENET), but ftp is
only used for downloading or uploading information. There are
generally two ways to access a computer via ftp, anonymous and
privileged.
11.3.3.1.1) How do I use anonymous ftp?
When you know which anonymous ftp site has the information that you
want, you can then log onto it and get that information using the ftp
program:
* Type in "ftp" (without the quotes) at the Unix prompt,
followed by the name of the ftp site that you wish to
access. For example:
ftp ftp.site
where ftp.site is the name of a hypothetical ftp site that
you want to access. If this doesn't work, try "open" in
place of "ftp."
* You will be asked to provide your username, type in:
anonymous
* You will be asked to provide your password.
DO NOT TYPE IN YOUR PASSWORD! *ANONYMOUS* FTP IS SUPPOSED
TO BE *ANONYMOUS*! If you wish, you may type in your
Internet address as a return address, but you do not need to
do so. Virtually any response to the password request will
give you access to an anonymous ftp site.
* Type in the GET command, followed by the exact name of the
file that you want to obtain. For example:
get ftp-document
where ftp-document is the name of a hypothetical document
that you wish to obtain. This procedure will retrieve an
ASCII document.
* If for some reason, there is something wrong with the
document that you obtain, start over and set the code to
binary by typing in "binary" (without the quotes) after you
have opened the anonymous ftp site. Specifically, type in
the following:
binary
This should fix the problem so that you can GET the document
that you want. If it doesn't, then the file you have is
probably compressed or encrypted, so you will need to find
out what program you should use to decompress or decrypt the
file. Check with King Hall Computer Specialist Steve
Langford for more information.
* To quit the ftp application, type in "quit" (without the
quotation marks). For example:
quit
Note: Steve Langford (<mailto:sdlangford@ucdavis.edu >) has set up
several of the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw with simplified ftp
access with the Fetch program. Contact Steve Langford at (916)752-
SLOW for more information.
11.3.3.1.2) How do I use privileged ftp?
A privileged ftp site requires an actual username and an actual
password (as opposed to an anonymous one). In addition to the GET
command, you can also use the PUT command with privileged ftp. For
example:
put ftp-document
where ftp-document is the hypothetical name of the document that you
want to load to the privileged ftp site.
11.3.3.1.3) How can I find out what files are available via ftp?
You can use various "search engines" on the Internet, such as
"gopher," "archie, and "veronica." My favorite search engine on the
World Wide Web is Yahoo (<http://www.yahoo.com/ >).
11.3.3.1.3.1) What is a gopher?
The term gopher primarily refers to a computer protocol and a type of
menu-driven computer application. People use gophers to burrow
through the Internet, figuratively speaking, and help them find the
information that they want. Gophers are named after the mascot of the
University of Minnesota where the gopher protocol was developed. All
the gophers in the world are interconnected, so if you want to use a
gopher, simply type in "gopher" (without the quotes) at the Unix
prompt and follow the directions.
11.3.3.1.3.2) Who (or what) is/are Veronica and Jughead?
Veronica (*Very *Easy *Rodent *Oriented *Netwide *Index to *Computer
*Archives) and Jughead (*Jonzi's *Universal *Gopher *Hierarchy
*Excavation *And *Display) are somewhat dated gopher-based search
engines.
11.3.3.1.3.3) Who (or what) is Archie?
Archie (*Archive *Retrieval *C--- *H--- *I--- *E---) is a search
engine that helps you locate computer programs that are archived on
ftp sites on the Internet. To use Archie, simply type in "archie"
(without the quotes) at the Unix prompt and follow the directions.
11.3.3.1.4) How do I obtain ftp files by e-mail request?
For information on ftp by e-mail service, send an e-mail message to
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com with the text "help" somewhere in the body of
the message. Many ftp sites have mail-server software that will send
ftp files by e-mail request. For example, to obtain this faq by e-
mail send the following message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu:
send usenet/news.answers/ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part*
. . .
quit
Where * is replaced by the numbers 1 through 9 in successive lines of
text. Other FAQs that I have written are archived at rtfm.mit.edu
under the usenet/news.answers directory under the appropriate archive
name. See Section 1.5 for more information about these other FAQs.
To obtain one of these other FAQs change the text of the line that
begins with send so that the archive name ucdavis/king-hall-faq is
replaced with the archive name of the other FAQ.
11.3.3.1.5) How do I transfer files to and from my personal computer and
my Internet account?
You can put your files on a diskette and use one of the workstations
on campus to ftp your files to and from your Internet account.
Alternatively, there are several file transfer programs available to
accomplish such tasks. Your best option among those that are
currently available is a kermit file transfer. Kermit is public
domain software that is available from IT-CAP; instructions for kermit
file transfers are available on the World Wide Web at the U.C. Davis
Network Administrators FAQ:
<http://tsp.ucdavis.edu/nar/FAQ-UNIX.html#Tag-MSKermit >
11.3.3.2) What legal resources are available on the Internet?
There are too many legal resources available on the Internet for me to
offer a complete catalog. However, there are two superb resources
that will help you find out what legal resources are available on the
Internet and where you can find them for yourself:
* The law.listserv.* USENET newsgroups are an excellent resource
for cutting-edge legal information of all kinds. The newsgroup
law.listserv.law-lib (<news:law.listserv.law-lib >), moderated by
Associate Director Judy Janes (<mailto:jcjanes@ucdavis.edu >) of
the U.C. Davis Law School Library is one of the most popular.
This newsgroup is frequented by thousands of law librarians, law
professors, and other legal scholars. A word of caution though:
Do not identify yourself as an outsider unless you are ready to
suffer the ridicule of thousands of erudite individuals.
* Erik J. Heels, who heads up Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing
(<http://www.lcp.com/ >), has compiled a very comprehensive list
of legal resources available on the Internet:
The Legal List,
Law-Related Resources Available on the Internet and
Elsewhere (ISBN 0-9643637-0-4).
The Legal List is always available on the news.answers USENET
newsgroup (<news:news.answers >) as well as many other
newsgroups. A paperback edition of the Legal List is also
available from the author. The Legal List is an invaluable
reference tool, and I unequivocally recommend that anyone with
any interest whatsoever in the law or the Internet get a copy of
the Legal List as soon as possible.
11.4) ISSUES ARISING FROM THE USE OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS AT KING HALL.
The recent dramatic increase in the use of personal computers at King
Hall has given rise to some novel issues. For example, you will
probably notice a number of your classmates use laptop computers in
class. This prompted the law school administration to post
"unofficial guidelines" for computer etiquette. Similarly, Cecilia
Wong, King Hall Class of 1997, asked LSA to impose a "30 minute
courtesy time limit" for the computers in the LEXIS/Westlaw room so
that people could check their e-mail without being inconvenienced by
the people who monoplize these computers.
IMHO, these measures were (at best) misguided attempts to enforce
the personal values of a few uninformed individuals upon the entire
law school community. Accordingly, I complained to the powers that be
at King Hall when the guidelines for computer etiquette were posted on
the dayboard. Similarly, I was present on other business at the LSA
meeting where the "courtesy time limit" was proposed; when asked my
opinion, I spoke out against it. In both cases, I was ignored.
As there was no official enforcement of these measures during my
tenure as a law student, I ignored them (which seemed like an
appropriate quid pro quo), and I recommend that you do the same. If
someone has a legitimate gripe arising from a breach of etiquette,
there is no reason why it cannot be resolved privately. Someone who
types on a laptop in class is no more offensive than someone who wears
too much perfume. The offended party can either speak up or move to
another seat. Similarly, if a person wants to check his or her e-mail
when all of the computer terminals are occupied in the LEXIS/Westlaw
room, that person can simply ask for permission from someone who is
already seated or wait his or her turn.
People can check their e-mail at hundreds of locations on the
U.C. Davis campus, some as close as the basement computer room at King
Hall. And in comparison to most other computer applications, e-mail
is nothing more than a frivolous use of computer resources. I'm sure
that some people would like to issue a sidearm, tire chalk, and a
citation book to Computer Specialist Steve Langford so that he can
enforce the tyrrany of a few uninformed student leaders. However,
Steve probably has more important things to do; I know that LSA does.
12) REVISIONS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS OF THIS FAQ.
[Note: Expect periodic revisions in this section and/or its
subsections.] I will add or change the information in this FAQ as it
becomes necessary. However, this FAQ all but completed its puberty
with the publication of Version 1.5 on November 5, 1995. If
information is substantially changed or deleted in the future, I will
make a note of it in this section; I may also post a separate USENET
article. The following notations will be used in section headers to
point out revisions in this FAQ:
* [CORRECTIONS]--If information is revised because of
substantial inaccuracy, I will mark the heading with this
notation; I will *not* note minor corrections.
* [Del]--Old section deleted.
* [New]--New section.
* [Rev]--Revised section.
* [Moved from . . .]/[Moved to . . .]--Section moved;
information unchanged.
As the above notations are meant to accomodate regular readers of
this FAQ, these notations will only appear for one month.
12.1) CHANGES IN THIS VERSION OF THE KING HALL USENET FAQ FROM PREVIOUS
VERSIONS.
This version of this FAQ (Version 21Jun96) should contain most of the
information contained in Version 1.5 with only minor editorial
changes. The most important revision was in the URL references from
the ftp server at rtfm.mit.edu to the hypertext version located at the
USENET FAQ project (passim).
12.2) CHANGES THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN FUTURE VERSIONS OF THIS FAQ.
I will probably leave the structure and substance of this FAQ intact,
but I will continue to add more subsections and questions and modify
details if it becomes necessary to do so. I will revise the html
version of this FAQ that is currently available at the USENET FAQ
project sometime soon (the current version was created by the USENET
FAQ Project's software).
Your comments are very much welcome and appreciated, but I am not
able to respond to every person individually. If you have any
questions that you would like to see answered in this FAQ, please let
me know by e-mail or snail-mail. I would also like to know how you
came across this FAQ and where you think that I should post a notice
of its availability. While this FAQ answers inquiries that I receive
from all over the USENET, I only post this FAQ to ucd.king-hall
(<news:ucd.king-hall >) and news.answers (<news:news.answers >) once a
month to conserve that mystical and increasingly rare commodity known
as bandwidth. For those of you who do not wish to view this FAQ in
the future, you may activate the killfile function on tin (Ctrl-K).
- - - - -
End of document:
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 9 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
by
David F. Prenatt, Jr.
King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
U.C. Davis School of Law
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-5210
<mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
Last document.
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